


Fleeting Moments

by Silverdrift



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Childhood, Childhood Friends, Children, First Meetings, Gen, Harpy!Edelgard, Human!Hubert, Monsters, Mythical Beings & Creatures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:27:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26653675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silverdrift/pseuds/Silverdrift
Summary: Young, lonely child Hubert wanders too far into the woods... A chance meeting there teaches friendship, family, love... And the bittersweet realities of fate.
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg & Hubert von Vestra
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14





	Fleeting Moments

Normally, Hubert was good with directions.

Even at seven, he excelled at navigation, mostly thanks to his father’s strict teachings… which is why no one thought twice when Hubert woke up at dawn and headed out into the woods with a backpack. It was just supposed to be a quick thing too, go in, look for a particular plant to sneak into that annoying redheaded boy’s meal the next time he was over for dinner, then go home. However, now, as he got to looking around… He had gone out too far. None of this scenery looked familiar and he had been so sure of where he was going that he didn’t leave a trail of any sort to follow home. Hubert heaved a frustrated sigh. Wandering aimlessly was bound to only get him more lost and without a clear direction to start… He ultimately decided to simply sit and wait. He had water and snacks, he would be fine until someone came to retrieve him. He perched himself up on rock with a huff, taking out a journal of his and began writing out ideas for a new spell that could turn the objects of his annoyance into tiny, insignificant bugs that he could squish beneath his boots. It would help him further his understanding of spell creation even if it didn’t work out, but mostly it was just a way to keep himself busy until his rescue so that he did not start to stress.

He kept his nose in his journal, scribbling away, lost in his brainstorming and planning when a noise suddenly drew his attention away from the pages. It sounded almost like leaves rustling, which given his location wasn’t exactly unusual, but with no birdsong and no wind… Hubert looked around, eying the trees before him with suspicion… but he saw nothing. Briefly he wondered if his mind was just playing tricks, brows pinching together a bit as he started to return to the pages. Then he heard it again. He turned around, glaring now at the trees… but he saw nothing… perhaps.

"Are you... a human?" A voice suddenly asked from above him with.

Hubert gasped, falling onto his butt as he tried to scramble back, looking up quickly to see what had snuck up on him. Perched on the lowest branch, nearly right above where he had been sitting, sat a curious creature, covered in fluff and down, much like a young bird… but this was not a bird. Not human either. “What…?” He managed to mutter under his breath, thinking quickly if he had ever read of such a creature. 

“I’ve never seen one up close…” She said softly, head tilting as she continued looking him over. “You are so small though.”

“It is not like you are any bigger.” Hubert huffed, slowly pulling himself to his feet.

“Well… no… but I will be! I’m just a fledgling!” 

“And I am but a child.” 

The creature tilted her head the other way. He was out a little far if that was the case… The humans didn’t bring their young out this far usually. “Why are you here then? They didn’t leave you to the wolves did they…? I’ve seen them do that… Cruel and cowardly. At least a harpy mother would kill the child herself swiftly if she didn’t want it.”

Hubert made a face. While that did seem more merciful… wait. “Harpy? Is that what you are?” He asked as he took a step closer.

She giggled in response, jumping down with a small flap of her wings to make the landing smooth and pushing her light brown hair back over her shoulder. “What else would I be silly? I have feathers!” As if to prove a point, she puffed up, ruffling all of her small fluffy feathers. “You didn’t answer my question though… What is a human child doing out this far?”

“I came in search of plants to help me get rid of someone. He annoys me…” Hubert grumbled, feeling agitated even just thinking of that brat. “But… I wandered too far and couldn’t figure out my way back. So I decided to sit and wait. Though it will be some time before my father comes looking.”

“Oh.” She looked down for a moment, then back up at him. “Like… poison plants? I know some really cool ones if you wanna see!”

Hubert gave her a look of wonder, looking more child-like in that moment than he ever had before and a rare smile came to his face. "Yes! Show me!"

“Yay!” She giggled, motioning him to follow. She took a couple of steps and then stopped. “Oh! I’m Edelgard… what do they call you?”

“Hubert.”

“Neat! Come on Hubert!”

Edelgard led him away, showing him various plants and telling him what they did, some of them he was pretty sure most humans didn’t even know about. There was one in particular that stood out though… mostly because it wasn’t just one. Two plants, harmless alone but once combined created a potent, fast acting poison that could kill even a demonic beast with small doses. Hubert couldn’t help but feel giddy over the possibilities… He wrote everything down in his journal, with small, sketchy pictures and detailed notes as quickly as he could, not wanting to miss a thing. 

“Umm... “ Edelgard hummed as she looked around after a while. “I think that’s all the ones momma taught me…”

“Oh... “ Hubert kind of wilted, feeling almost sad for this to end… he was actually having fun.

Edelgard gave Hubert a sympathetic look. Her mother had always told her humans were dangerous… but Hubert didn’t seem that way… he just looked… lonely. “Wanna play hide-and-seek?”

“Huh?” 

“Hide-and-seek! You know, I close my eyes and count, you hide, then I come find you! Then you count!”

“Um... “ Hubert hesitated. He had never really played games like this before, always too busy studying or attending these boring meetings with his father. The only thing close to a friend he had was that pompous red-head, but it was hard to consider him such when all Hubert wanted was to watch him puke up his toenails and laugh. 

“Come on Hubert! It’s fun! Pleeeease?”

“I suppose...”

“Yay!” She giggled, covering her face with both her wings and her hands. “I’ll count! Go hide! 1… 2…”

Hubert took off then, running quietly through trees, finding a dead log big enough to crawl inside. He quickly took off his backpack and tossed it down in some of the taller grass, quickly crawling in and going still.

“9...10! Here I come!!” She lowered her hands, looking for any indication on which way he might have gone. She looked around, following subtle nature clues that told her where to look… until she found his backpack. He had to be around here then! 

Hubert held his breath as he watched her walk by the log a couple of times, relaxing when she disappeared, thinking he had gotten away…

“Found you!”

Hubert made a surprised squeak when Edelgard suddenly peeked into the log with a happy shout. With a small huff, he crawled out and looked at her. “You are quick…”

“I’m really good at this game.” She replied proudly. 

“Hmm… I will have to work on my skills then. One of these days you will not be able to find me.”

“That’ll never-”

“Edelgard!” 

Edelgard looked up just as a larger harpy swooped down from the trees, placing himself between her and Hubert. “Hey! You are ruining the game!”

“You know you aren’t supposed to be around the humans! They are dangerous.” 

“Hubert isn’t dangerous! He’s my friend!” She huffed. 

“Friend? You know we can’t…” The older harpy trailed off, getting a better look at the human. “A child… They are getting desperate with their traps it seems..”

Edelgard rolled her eyes. “You dummy. He’s lost! I was just keeping him company!”

“Is that true? You are lost?” 

“Yes… I wandered too far and don’t know my way back…” Hubert confirmed.

The older harpy sighed. This was a bit of a situation. He couldn’t kill the human child… That would that draw attention and surely bring more humans uncomfortably close... and Edelgard would likely be angry… but the kid couldn't stay. That was too much of a risk and he would be damned if he knowingly put his little sister in danger like that. “You need to go back.”

“Do you have fluff in your ears?” Edelgard puffed up angrily. “He can’t just go back. He’s-”

“Lost. Yes.” He looked over at Hubert. “I will lead you back toward the edge of the forest… but you have to promise not to tell a soul about us. You wouldn’t want Edelgard to get hurt would you?”

“... No…”

“Good. Gather your things.”

“Spoil sport…” Edelgard whined.

Hubert didn’t fuss, just gathered his things and followed quietly behind the harpies, showing a small smile everytime Edelgard would look back. It seemed like it took very little time to get back for how lost he had been… but when they stopped, he walked up beside him. “I can get back from here…”

“Good. Remember… Not a word.” The elder sibling looked down at the small harpy beside him before turning to walk off. “ Come Edelgard.”

Edelgard looked up at her brother and then back at Hubert… Then ran up to give him a nuzzle. “Play again soon?” She asked softly, hoping that she was unheard by her guardian.

Hubert was surprised by the gesture… but gave her a goofy smile and nodded.

“Ok! Bye Hubert!!”

Hubert stood there and watched them leave, not moving an inch until they disappeared and once they had, he too turned to leave, already planning on when he might come back to see his new friend.

That fateful day marked the first of many times he went back to that forest, never using the same path twice in a row, carefully marking his way home with the utmost subtly, until such a time that he had his paths completely memorized to belay the fears of the local flock. They were still wary of him at first, understandably so… but the more they watched the two together, they slowly became more accepting. The two seemed to grow closer as the days went on, morphing slowly into years… and despite the barriers between them, they became virtually inseparable… and there were even whispers among the flock that perhaps there was something more beginning to blossom. 

But all good things had their ends…

One day when Hubert returned to the forest… the Harpies were gone, nothing but feathers near their nesting grounds to even suggest they had ever been there. He was crushed… but perhaps they were just hiding. Edelgard had said they had been seeing more human activity in the woods… They could have been just laying low for a while. So Hubert returned everyday, more and more disappointed, dejected when he did not see them and after two weeks of this… he just gave up. The thought that they had migrated without his knowing did cross his mind… but the thought gave him such a bitter taste in his mouth. They were friends! He and Edelgard were so close… Or so he had thought. Maybe it was never meant to be… Regardless the reason, Hubert never could bring himself to return to those woods.

But perhaps one day… 

Just as swiftly as fate had taken her away… 

Perhaps he would get the chance to see her again.


End file.
